PDA's 9th Annual Conference a Huge SUCCESS! - Polyurea ...

PODIUM 

P O L Y U R E A D E V E L O P M E N T A S S O C I A T I O N 

V O L . 9 , N O . 2 | S E C O N D Q UA RT E R 2 0 0 8 

IN THIS ISSUE 

1 PDA’s 9th Annual 

Conference – An 

Industry Success! 

4 President’s Message 

7 Case Study - British 

Royal Navy (Exterior of 

Petroleum Reservoir 

and Rivets) 

13 International Market 

Research Study Update 

14 PDA Europe 

PDA’s 9th Annual Conference 

a Huge SUCCESS! 

By Erin Nied, Associate Director 

PDA’s 9 th Annual Conference was an 

Industry Success! The conference theme, 

“Polyurea: Where Technology Shapes 

Solutions,” was put into action as the 210 

attendees from 15 different countries had 

the opportunity to learn from case studies of projects 

incorporating polyurea, sessions focusing on 

construction specifications and new technologies. 

Keynote speaker, Charles Vander Kooi, who spoke 

about, “Four Principles to Negotiating,” gave 

attendees momentum the rest of the conference 

with his enthusiasm as he kicked off the General 

Session! For the second year, attendees could 

choose a track session meant to fit their specific 

membership category and precise presentations 

that appeal to their needs. 

PDA again offered the course, “Introduction to 

Polyurea” which is geared at educating new users 

of the technology in addition to providing more 

information to engineers and specifiers. Appearing 

for its third year in PDA’s educational line up was 

the course, “Surface Preparation.” This four-hour 

course was designed to train applicators the proper 

methods of preparing all types of surfaces prior to 

the application of polyurea. Both of these courses 

were well attended. 

PODIUM | FIRST QUARTER 2008 | 1

Don Dancey, Innovative 

Painting & Waterproofing 

gave a very insightful 

presentation on “Polyureas 

Role in Submarines at 

a Southern California 

Amusement Park.” 

The 2008 Platinum Project Award Winner: 

Mario Lefebvre, Polyval Coatings, Inc. 

The 2008 Platinum Development Award Winner: Dennis 

Keich and Chad Weatherford, Specialty Products, Inc. 

Rob Loomis, Willamette Valley 

Company, accepts his Presidential 

Award for being such a great PDA 

President 2007-2008! 

Our PDA Spray Course Instructors Dudley 

Primeaux, Primeaux Associates LLC and Doug 

Commette, Polyurea.com, are always supporting 

PDA at our conferences! 

The Board of Directors gathers at the front of the 

hotel before a round of cocktails! 

The Mentalist somehow got Emily May, 

WillametteValley Company to light up the light 

blubs without plugging them in! 

Lee Hanson, The Hanson Group, 

closes out the Annual Awards Banquet 

by thanking our sponsors: The Dow 

Chemical Company and Graco. 

PDA hosted its fourth annual Platinum 

Poster Development & Project Awards, 

an opportunity for members to be 

recognized by PDA for exceptional 

applications and advances in polyurea 

technology. Posters were on display 

throughout the Platinum Poster 

Reception with winners announced 

at the Annual Business Meeting. The 

2008 Platinum Project Award winner 

is Polyval with Changi Waste Water 

Waterproofing Polyurea Project and the 

2008 Platinum Development Award 

winner is SPI with New Generations of 

Chemical Resistant Polyurea. 

The 4 th Annual PDA Awards Banquet 

was celebrated with a sumptuous meal, 

awards presentation and an evening 

of laughter with mentalist Christopher 

Carter. The attendees enjoyed 

watching fellow PDA members being 

tricked on stage by Christopher and 

were impressed with his mind readings 

skills! 

All in all, PDA’s 9 th Annual 

Conference was a huge success and 

very well attended. The conference 

proceeding link is available for all 

PDA members in the ‘members only’ 

section on the website. We hope to 

have back everyone who attended this 

year and help us spread the word to 

make this conference even bigger and 

better next year! PDA would also like 

to thank the Program Committee and 

Attendees for making this Conference 

such a huge success! 

PODIUM | FIRST QUARTER 2008 |

2008 ANNUAL CONFERENCE SPONSORS 

The Polyurea Development Association appreciates the support of our 

members. Their generous support enables the Association to keep meeting 

registration fees at a reasonable rate at the same time allowing us to present a 

quality program. 

Thank you to the following companies for their support. 

BASF Corporation 

Bayer MaterialScience 

Chidley & Peto Company 

CoatingsPro Magazine 

Custom Linings 

D.B. Becker Company, Inc. 

Dorsett & Jackson, Inc. 

Dow VORASTAR Spray 

G.K. Technochem PVT LTD 

Graco, Inc. 

The Hanson Group 

Huntsman Corporation 

Matteson-Ridolfi, Inc. 

Primeaux Associates, LLC 

Rebus, Inc. 

Ribelin Sales, Inc. 

The Sherwin-Williams Co. 

SSPC: The Society for Protective Coatings 

VersaFlex Inc. 

Visuron Technologies, Inc. 

X-Calibur Construction Services 

Thank you to the exhibitors at the 

PDA 2008 Annual Conference in Atlanta! 

Adhesive Systems Technology Corp. 

Advanced Resin Coatings 

CHLOR RID International, Inc. 

Clariant Corporation 

CoatingsPro Magazine 

Custom Linings, Inc. 

Diamond Liners, Inc. 

Finishing Today and Paint & Coating Industry 

(PCI) Magazine 

Gama Machinery USA, Inc. 

GlasCraft, Inc. 

Graco, Inc. 

J. Calman Industries LLC 

JPCL – PaintSquare 

Lehigh Technologies, Inc. 

Lonza, Inc. 

Quantum Technical Services Ltd. 

Reactamine Technology, LLC an Amber 

Chemical Company 

Rebus, Inc. 

Repi LLC 

Sherwin-Williams 

Specialty Products, Inc. 

Sponge-Jet, Inc. 

SSPC: The Society for Protective Coatings 

The Dow Chemical Company 

The Hanson Group, LLC 

The Sherwin-Williams Company 


PRESIDENT’S 

MESSAGE 

First, I would like to thank Chalise, Erin, Ken and 

all those at Robstan for putting on an excellent 

PDA Conference in Atlanta. It was very well 

attended by over 200 manufacturers, formulators, 

architects, contractors, and applicators from over 

15 countries. The programs were well run and very 

timely. It is apparent that all that attended left with 

more knowledge and network connections than they 

came to the conference with. As I look back to the 

Lee Hanson beginning of the PDA over eight years ago, there 

The Hanson Group were a few people with a lot of knowledge about 

Duluth, GA spray polyureas. Today there are many experts in 

this field. The education, training, and promotion that the Polyurea 

Development Association has given to this industry are evident in all 

of these members with a vast knowledge of many different successful 

polyurea applications and technologies. All the volunteer members 

of PDA that serve on the various committees should be commended 

for doing a great job these past eight years. We have created an 

industry that is viable and growing at a tremendous rate. I hope to 

see many more people and companies join our organization and help 

carry the load into the future as Polyureas expand into many different 

applications and far away geographies. 

During 2007, we commissioned a professional marketing company 

to conduct a global study of the Polyurea industry. The PDA paid over 

$65,000 for this study (sponsored completely by a few of our members) 

and the results are in and are very exciting. The study provides a 

breakdown of the Polyurea market by geography, chemistry, application 

and use. The growth trend is in the range of 15-25% annual growth, 

but is not inclusive of many of the OEM projects that are soon to be 

commercial. If all the large projects start that are in the queue, I do 

not believe that there are enough raw materials to supply this growth. 

It’s a good problem to have, but one that must be addressed today in 

order to secure Polyurea’s future. If you’d like to learn more about the 

direction that Polyureas are going, purchase a copy of the market study. 

It is available to members today and nonmembers in May. 

In addition to the growth of Polyurea usage, we have seen the 

successful commencement of PDA Europe marked by their first annual 

conference held in Belgium in November. This conference was attended 

by over 150 representative companies. During the coming months, we 

are looking into the feasibility of creating an Asia subchapter of PDA. It 

is still in discussion, but there are many Polyurea opportunities in the 

Far East and there is a need for PDA training and education. 

Wrapping up my first Podium address, I’d like to invite you to get 

more involved with the PDA Organization. Don’t let some of these 

new technologies and applications slip past you. We need everyone’s 

involvement to sustain the education, training and promotion of 

Polyureas and PDA. We will have a Mid-Year meeting of the committees 

in Kansas City and the Annual Conference will be in Albuquerque, NM 

in January 2009. 

BOARD OF 

DIRECTORS 

Congratulations to the newly elected PDA Board Members! 

PRESIDENT 

Lee Hanson 

The Hanson Group, LLC 

770.495.9554 

lhanson@hansonco.net 

PRESIDENT ELECT 

Don Dancey 

Innovative Painting & Waterproofing 

714.257.0200 

don@waterproofingcontractor.com 

SECRETARY-TREASURER 

John Turnour 

Rebus, Inc 

610.497.4710 

jturnour@rebusinc.net 

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT 

Robert Loomis 

Willamette Valley Company 

541.484.9621 

07robl@wilvaco.com 

DIRECTORS 

Sean Boeger 

Poly-Pro Industrial Coatings, LLC 

203.961.9888 

boeger@polypro.net 

Kelin Bower 

PolyVers International 

713.466.4988 

kelin@polyvers.com 

Dan Canavan III 

D.B. Becker Co., Inc. 

908.730.6010 

dtcanavan3@dbbecker.com 

David Cerchie 

Versa Flex Inc. 

913.321.9000 

david@versaflex.com 

Tony Gargano 

Graco, Inc. 

612.623.6087 

agargano@graco.com 

Christiane Hackl 


973.245.6525 

christiane.hackl@basf.com 

Jay Johnston 

Bayer MaterialScience 

412.777.2512 

jay.johnston@bayerbms.com 

Dudley Primeaux 


512.461.5023 

polyurea@flash.net 

Mark White 

Industrial Trim, LLC 

678.432.0397 

industrialtrim@industrialtrim.com 

INTERNATIONAL DIRECTORS 

Jackson Ang 

Naret Group of Companies Co., LTD 

01060502222 

sa08458@singnet.com.sg 

Marc Broekaert 

Huntsman Corporation 

3227588814 

marc_broekaert@huntsman.com 

Bernd Dietz 

REMA TIP TOP GmbH 

498121707255 

bernd.dietz@tiptop.de 

Tony LaGrange 

Quantum Technical Services, Ltd. 

780.454.9166 

tony@quantumchemical.com 

Sincerely, Lee Hanson, PDA President 2008-2009 


IN MEMORY OF THOMAS E. DAVIS – 

POLYUREA PIONEER 

By Dudley J. Primeaux, II, 


A 

little over 20 years 

ago, Tom Davis 

was an engineer 

with Dunnage 

Engineering in 

Brighton, Michigan. Tom 

had heard of this new 

polyurea spray technology 

and thought that he could 

use to replace the slush 

molded PVC they used 

for dunnage protection in 

automotive applications. 

In a very short time, Tom 

was able to get this work 

into the facility, but saw the 

opportunity he could have 

Tom Davis, Visuron Technologies with his own work. After 

several discussions back 

and forth as well as heartto-heart 

communications 

with his wife and friend, 

Marcia Davis, they took 

their savings, left current 

employment and formed 

Visuron Technologies. “He was so excited, and you could see 

the passion in his eyes and heart, I am honored to have been 

there with him at the start,” claims good friend and associate 

Dudley J. Primeaux, II. 

Now Tom was a very smart engineer having spent much time 

working in automotive application areas. He was actually lead 

engineer and inventor in some very important inorganic ceramic 

coatings work still being used today. 

Many of us knew Tom as a Founding Father and past Board 

of Director of the PDA, committee member, exhibitor and 

presenter. Tom was even on front stage for several of the first 

PDA meetings trying to discuss that nasty thing of failures. He 

even shared with us a failure that cost him financially. But 

we have learned from our lessons and moved on to improve 

polyurea technology, equipment and application. 

Tom and his company, Visuron Technologies, was noted 

for its aromatic and aliphatic spray polyurea systems, the 

high chemical resistant coating / lining materials, the single 

component MIAC polyurea, the foul release systems, potable 

water approved systems, the robotic pipelining equipment and 

structural materials and the newly demonstrated commercial 

electrostatic spray applied polyurea. 

What many suppliers and applicators don’t realize is that Tom 

and his work set the stage for most of the materials and work 

performed by most of us today. Some of his first work dealt 

with asbestos / lead encapsulation and remediation work where 

he had strippable systems. He was the first to design and apply 

in-mold polyurea coating systems for soft-feel spa and hot-tub 

work. Many of his polyurea / geotextile secondary containment 

systems have been in use now for 15+ years. He solved bughole 

issues in concrete coating work using the adhered geotextile 

membrane system for both major secondary containment and 

aquarium lining projects. There was also EPS encapsulation 

projects for automotive end use, clear applied polyurea for 

decorative waterproofing, blast mitigation / structural support, 

roofing, underwater sealants and the first silicone backbone 

polyurea systems. Tom was a pioneer. Tom was a visionary. 

Tom was a husband, married to his friend and partner Marcia for 

20 years. Tom was a brother, with two older siblings, one living 

in California and one living in Michigan. He was a Father and 

Dad, having two sons and two daughters. He was a Grandfather 

(5) and a Great-Grandfather (2). He was a rescuer of his faithful 

companions Ginger and Val, who were by he and Marcia’s sides 

at all times. 

Tom was an honest, humble gentleman, simple at heart being 

a community volunteer, believer in the USA and supporter 

of our military and veterans. He would listen intently to 

conversations, share experiences and have a laugh or two. But 

most importantly, Tom was a Christian, and our friend. 

Every time Tom and his good friends spoke, whether it be at 

conventions / shows, job sites or on the telephone, he always 

found the time to discuss life, family and friends. It was talk 

much like childhood friends would do while sitting on the banks 

a soft flowing river on a warm spring day or in a freshly erected 

tree house. Tom had recently taken up flying model airplanes 

for relaxation. Even though he crashed and temporarily lost his 

first plane on an earlier run, he got another one and continued 

forward. 

We all have many fond memories and stories of Tom that will be 

with us forever. I am sure that many of you have the same. 

Our industry has lost an innovator, a pioneer, a leader, a 

volunteer, a team member and associate. To those of us here at 

PDA, we have lost a great friend. 

This article is memory of Tom Davis. It was excerpted 

from a memorial speech given by Dudley J. Primeaux, II at 

the 2008 PDA Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Tom 

Davis and Dudley were very close friends. He will always be 

remembered. 


SAVE THE DATE! 

PDA’s 2008 Mid-Year Meeting 

August 26-28, 2008 – 

Embassy Suites, 

Kansas City – Plaza 

Kansas City, MO 

Make sure to SAVE THE DATE 

for PDA’s 2008 Mid-Year Meeting! 

This year’s meeting will focus on 

CONCRETE including job profiles, 

specification, green building 

and business! 

SAVE THE DATE! 

PDA’s 2009 Annual Conference 

January 20-23, 2008 – Embassy Suites 

Albuquerque, NM 

NEW MEMBERS 

CONTRACTOR/APPLICATOR 

Applied Polymer 

Coatings, Inc. 

Brian Henry 

Olney, MD USA 

301.260.1922 

Centimark Corp. 

Pat McCoy 

Lenexa, KS USA 

913.227.0675 

Crown Painting, Inc. 

Mike Conversa 

Mokena, IL USA 

708.478.0505 

Denmax LLC 

Andrey Veretenov 

Reston, VA USA 

703.362.4488 

Dimensional 

Innovations 

Brian Georgie 

Overland Park, KS 

USA 

913.384.3488 

Fibre Tech Inc 

Scott Morris 

Largo, FL USA 

727.539.0844 

H.S.P.C. Ltd. 

Craig Johns 

Stoke on Trent, 

Staffordshire England 

00447768022461 

Hyperion 

Technologies Inc. 

Debbie Glenesk 

Calgary, AB Canada 

403.221.1410 

K & G Midwest Spray 

Coatings, LLC 

Gary Fish 

Richland Center, WI 

USA 

608.604.1901 

MacDonald 

Applicators Limited 

Andrew MacDonald 

Saint John, NB 

Canada 

506.633.1981 

Odle, Inc. 

John Linder 

Muncie, IN USA 

Premium Protective 

Coatings 

John Moyer 

Palmyra, PA USA 

717.821.4654 

Raschta Coatings Pty 

Ltd 

Brendan Duffy 

South Brisbane, QLD 

Australia 

61450310355 

S.B.P. Specialties 

Bob Condie 

Greely, ON Canada 

613.913.1684 

Valpolymer SRL 

Antonio Valli 

Credaro, BG Italy 

390354265011 

FORMULATOR/SYSTEM 

SUPPLIER 

Advanced Resin 

Coatings LLC 

Tom Wunderlin 

Millersville, MD 

USA 

410.925.3942 

Arnette Limited, Inc. 

R. Scott McPherson 

Richmond, MO USA 

816.776.3005 

Beijing Zhongtong 

New Building 

Materials Co. 

Zengke Sun 

Beijing, P.R. China 

+86-10-63819525 

Bondo/3M 

Corporation 

Jackie Johnson 

Atlanta, GA USA 

404.696.2730 

RAW MATERIAL SUPPLIER 

Evonik/Degussa 

Corporation 

Samy Saad 

Piscataway, NJ USA 

732.981.5157 

Guangzhou Supe 

Chemical Co., LTD 

Zairong Yan 

Cuangzhou, 

Guangdong China 

862034772182 

ARCHITECT/ENGINEER/ 

SPECIFIER 

ICS Building 

Technologies 

Kenneth Rudd 

Cleveland, OH USA 

216.883.4100 

PromoGraphics Int’l, 

Inc. 

Michael Gerson 

Fort Lauderdale, FL 

USA 

954.801.6462 

Tru-Trac 

Manufacturering 

Tim O’Carroll 

Pretoria, Gauteng 

South Africa 

+24(0)126619531 

ACADEMIC/GOVERNMENT/ 

STUDENT 

Qingdao 

Technological 

University 

Weibo Huang 

Qingdao, Shandong 

Province P.R. China 

+86-532-85071275 

CONSULTANT 

Kinetic Blending 

Steve Chandler 

Lakewood, WA USA 

253.984.9336 

EQUIPMENT DISTRIUBTOR 

CPI 

Randy Kugler 

Barberton, OH USA 

330.861.5200 

INDEPENDENT SALES 

REPRESENTATIVE 

Award Specialty 

Services 

Al Ward 

Dallas, GA USA 

678.363.5845 


CASE STUDY 

BRITISH ROYAL NAVY 

(EXTERIOR OF PETROLEUM 

RESERVOIR AND RIVETS) By: Polyval Coatings Inc. 

Project: Waterproofing and corrosion protection on 

exterior and rivet joints 

Owner: British Royal Navy 

Contractor: Copas Coatings Inc. 

System: Mono Ferro Pur, Polyflex 202 

Surface: 20,000 p 2 / 1,857 m 2 

Completed: 2006 

Location: Singapore 

The Royal British Navy had been experiencing many 

different waterproofing and corrosion problems on the 

exterior of their petroleum reservoir tanks. They have over 

20 petroleum reservoirs which have been built over 40 

years ago. The reservoirs contain the diesel and kerosene 

they use to fill up the ships. Over the years the oil had 

been seeping through the rivets along the outside of the 

petroleum reservoir. Furthermore, it was very important 

to be repaired immediately as the damage created a poor 

aesthetic appearance of the tanks and there was loss of 

fuel. There were two possibilities; replace the tanks 

(which would take months and be extremely costly) or 

repair the rivets with Polyurea which would put back the 

installation in days and be very cost efficient. 

The decision was made and the Royal British Navy 

partnered with Polyval Coatings Inc., a PDA member, to 

become their Polyurea supplier. Polyval Coatings supplied 

a special Polyurea formulation that resisted against the 

petroleum products such as; crude oil, diesel, kerosene 

and jet fuel. 

Copas Coatings Inc. was selected as the general contractor 

for this project and the job began in 2006. 

This system was applied with one layer of Mono Ferro 

Pur, a moisture cure polyurethane primer, followed 

by one coat of Polyflex 202 at 2.00 mm D.F.T. (80 

mills). As a top coat, they applied one coat of aliphatic 

moisture cure polyurethane of Xymax. The Xymax 

line of products is used to protect the color stability 

and retain the gloss. It’s fast drying and curing 

time made it possible to put back the installation in 

operation in just a few days. 


POLYUREA 

APPLICATOR SPRAY COURSE 

Polyurea Development Association 

GET THE EDGE ON YOUR COMPETITION. 

The Polyurea Development Association’s Applicator 

Spray Course is the most comprehensive training in the 

polyurea market today. If you’re serious about polyurea, 

don’t miss the opportunity to get ahead in the industry! 

2008 DATES: 

July 8-11 

October 7-10 

Location: Houston, Texas 

For more information and registration 

please visit PDA’s website: 

www.pda-online.org or call 816.221.0777 

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FROM THE SAFETY COMMITTEE 

Eight Major Mistakes (Or, 

What Not to Do When Workers’ 

Compensation Rates Drop) By Frank Pennachio 

When workers’ compensation rates decline, 

don’t shift your attention to other parts of 

the business or become complacent. 

Throughout much of the country, declining workers’ compensation 

rates are music to employers’ ears. After all, that seems like longawaited 

good news, particularly since workers’ compensation is 

more often than not viewed as a necessity and a significant cost 

of doing business. 

Yet, looking at workers’ compensation as a business necessity or 

a commodity is a major fallacy. Although most employers fail to 

recognize it, workers’ compensation is a core business practice 

and a means for improving the bottom line. 

Rather than diverting attention and finances to other business 

priorities during periods of lower workers’ compensation rates, 

employers can benefit by taking steps to guarantee long-term 

savings. Here are eight mistakes employers should avoid so they 

can achieve long-term workers’ compensation savings. 

1. Confusing Lower Premium Rates with Cost Reductions 

Many employers are surprised to learn that a reduction in workers’ 

compensation rates does not always mean a reduction in costs. 

Let’s begin with a basic understanding of what determines the 

cost of workers’ compensation insurance. Unlike other insurance, 

workers’ compensation functions like a credit line to finance the 

costs of injuries. As such, rates alone do not determine the overall 

cost An experience modification factor (Mod) tailors the cost of 

insurance to the individual loss performance of an employer. A 

workers’ compensation premium is calculated by this formula: 

Rate x $100 payroll x experience modifier. 

The Mod calculation is complex, but in general, an employer 

is compared with similar employers in the same industry 

classification and if past losses are lower than average, a credit 

rating reduces the premium. Conversely, if past losses are higher 

than average, a debit rating can actually increase costs in spite of 

lower rates. 

2. Becoming Complacent 

Declining rates act as blinders for many employers. With lower 

prices, it’s easy to shift focus away from injury management and 

cost containment to other, more pressing business matters. 

While increased attention to safety led to a decline in the number 

of workplace accidents, resulting in fewer claims and lower rates, 

claim frequency is only one part of the equation. The other part, 

claim cost including indemnity (lost wages) and medical care, 

continues to rise. 

In many industries where there are tight labor markets, wage 

gains are expected to trend higher, suggesting further increases 

in indemnity severity. At the same time, medical care costs have 

marched relentlessly upward since the mid 1990s. 

Even more disturbing is the fact that the growth in workers’ 

compensation medical costs has been much steeper than in the 

health care industry as a whole, indicating that it is not only 

medical inflation but a mix of services and over-utilization that 

are driving up costs. 

If claims remain open and injury costs escalate, reserves (estimate 

of ultimate cost of injury) rise and adversely affect the employer’s 

experience modification factor, thus increasing costs. Employers 

need to understand what is impacting medical costs and measure 

key metrics such as cost per claim trends adjusted for diagnosis 

and severity. 

3. Focusing Only on Direct Costs 

Ask a business person how much he or she spends on workers’ 

compensation and almost all will respond with the price of the 

premium. Yet, the direct costs of workers’ compensation often 

represent only 20 percent to 30 percent of the overall injury 

expenses. 

Indirect costs, including overtime, temporary labor, increased 

training, supervisor time, production delays, unhappy customers, 

increased stress and property or equipment damage represent 

several times the direct cost of the injury. A 2002 Safety Index 

report by Liberty Mutual tallied the direct cost of workplace 

injuries at $40.1 billion. The total financial impact of both direct 

and indirect costs was estimated to be as much as $240 billion. 

Injury costs – both direct and indirect – will have a much greater 

impact on an employers’ overall costs than rate decreases. 

4. Thinking That Rates Will Stay Low 

Historically, the workers’ compensation price cycle has repeated 

in a predictable pattern: Rates decline, insurance is purchased 

for a lower price, employers shift focus away from workers’ 

compensation, claim costs do not fall in relationship to reduced 

rates and employers’ Mod increases, legislative reforms erode 

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 


CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 

or become ineffective, insurance company profits diminish and 

rates increase. 

During a declining rate cycle, the plan expects that if rates go 

down, so should injury costs. If employers do not manage injury 

effectively and claims do not go down, the employer’s Mod will 

go up. When rates rise again, the increased Mod will wipe out 

any savings garnered during the declining rate cycle. 

5. Viewing Workers’ Compensation as an Expense 

Employers should recognize that workers’ compensation is more 

than a necessary expense; it is a controllable aspect of business 

that if managed properly will have a measurable and positive 

return on investment (ROI). 

In ROI Selling, authors Michael Nick and Kurt Koenig note 

three measures of ROI: “Return on investment occurs when a 

company realizes an increase in revenue, a reduction in cost or 

an avoidance of cost.” 

Viewing workers’ compensation as an ongoing process and not 

an expense can accomplish all three. When injuries do occur, 

employers can increase their revenues by getting employees 

back to work quickly and reduce their costs by managing the 

injury effectively. By recognizing that workers’ compensation 

begins at the date of hire, employers can avoid costs by hiring 

the right people. 

6. Separating Workers’ Compensation From Employee 

Retention 

Retaining skilled employees is one of the most difficult challenges 

facing businesses today. Turnover is extremely costly. According 

to estimates, it is anywhere from 50 percent to 150 percent of an 

employee’s annual salary. 

If a work-related injury is not managed properly, it can result in 

the unnecessary loss of a skilled, trained employee. The longer 

employees are away from the job, the less likely they are to 

return. Statistics show that if employees are not back to work 

within 12 weeks, they only have a 50 percent chance of ever 

returning. 

The fundamental reason for most lost time is not medical 

necessity but the non-medical decision-making and lack of a 

process that occurs after an employee is injured. The workplace 

response is key – studies show that employees’ satisfaction 

with their employer’s response has a much larger impact on 

employment stability than does their satisfaction with health care 

itself. Being guided by a plan that focuses on communication 

and return to work will be far more effective than declining rates 

in both reducing workers’ compensation costs and improving 

productivity. 

7. Devaluing Your Relationship With the Insurance Company 

or Agency 

In a time of declining rates and new competition, there is a 

tendency to shop for the lowest price. The insurance industry 

is not immune to the old adage, “You get what you pay for.” 

Chasing the lowest rate can result in poor service or having to 

deal with an insurance company’s unstable finances. In every 

“soft market” cycle, insurance companies have gone bankrupt 

and been unable to pay claims. It is critical for employers to 

investigate the insurer’s stability as well as its long-term 

commitment to the workers’ compensation market to mitigate 

the possibility of a financial failure. 

Furthermore, selecting an agent and carrier with an excellent 

understanding of workers’ compensation is very important. The 

added benefits of improved hiring practices, medical relationships 

and comprehensive injury management services will reduce both 

the number of claims and the costs of claims resulting in a lower 

Mod. Unlike declining rates, a reduced Mod is a guaranteed way 

to drive down costs over the long term. 

8. Measuring the Wrong Thing 

John Tukey, Ph.D., the prominent statistician, said, “When the 

right thing can only be measured poorly, it tends to cause the 

wrong thing to be measured well. And, it is often much worse to 

have a good measurement of the wrong thing, especially when 

it is so often the case that the wrong thing will, in fact, be used 

as a indicator of the right thing, than to have a poor measure of 

the right thing.” 

When workers’ compensation is treated as a commodity, the 

decision is reduced to the lowest possible common denominator 

– price. This shortsighted approach is equivalent to expecting 

gourmet food on a fast food budget. If employers are not 

measuring the true financial impact of work-related injuries, they 

cannot effectively manage them. 

When viewing workers’ compensation as a core business 

practice of comprehensive risk management, the focus shifts 

from price to tangible metrics that are driving claims costs. 

With this information, employers can address the underlying 

circumstances and conditions that are pushing up work-related 

injury costs and measure the value of their actions. 

The declining rate period provides an opportunity and a challenge 

for employers. The opportunity is to use the “found” money to 

implement practices that will improve their company and profits 

– better hiring, injury management and improved education and 

training. The one constant that separates employers from their 

competitors is their workforce. The challenge is to protect it. 

Frank Pennachio, CWCA, is a co-founder and director of 

curriculum at the Institute of WorkComp Professionals, an 

organization that tests and certifies insurance professionals 

with the skills and knowledge necessary to alert employers 

about the hidden costs and overcharges in the workers’ 

compensation insurance system. He can be contacted at frank@ 

workcompprofessionals.com. 


MEMBERS IN THE NEWS 

PDA Members Author Chapters 

in New SSPC Publication 

The SSPC: The Society for 

Protective Coatings introduced 

their new book Selecting Coatings 

for Industrial and Marine 

Structures during the PACE2008 

Conference in Los Angeles, 

California. This new book, edited 

by Dr, Richard W. Drisko, discusses 

various coating chemistries used 

in protective coating applications. 

This includes two chapters on the 

polyurea chemistries. 

Chapter 7: Two-Component 

Polyurea Coatings / Linings, was 

written by Dudley J Primeaux 

II of Primeaux Associates LLC. Chapter 8: Polyaspartics, was 

written by Edward P Squiller and Ronald G Eritano of Bayer 

MaterialScience, LLC. 

The book is available through the SSPC at www.sspc.org. 

VersaFlex Incorporated 

Announces New Hire 

VersaFlex Incorporated is pleased to 

announce that Jamie House has been brought 

on board to lead ISO certification and head 

production quality control team. 

Jamie House attended Missouri Southern 

State University for Industrial Engineering, 

ASQ MEMBERS Certified Six IN THE Sigma NEWS Green Belt, 

ISO (Continued) 9001:2000 QMS Management 

Representative, PDA Certified Polyurea Applicator, Certified 

Hazardous Waste Manager per 40 CFR 265.16 . 12 years of 

Industrial Chemical manufacturing Diamond Liners, experience, Inc. specializing 

in quality improvement Announces and cost New Website reduction projects. 

Utilizing 5-S, Six Sigma, and Lean methodologies. Joined 

Launch 

VersaFlex Incorporated October 2007 to aid in product quality 

improvement and plant continued efficiency from page 11 improvements. Currently 

implementing ISO 9001:2000 quality systems for certification. 

“Our goal is to be on the cutting edge of 

internet technology in our industry and 

our new website is an innovative method 

Diamond Liners E-Commerce Site Features 

of continuing to offer the same hands-on 

Ratio Check expertise, sales and support that we pride 

ourselves on offering to our customers,” 

Precision Monitoring System Insures Against Costly Application 

said John Bender. 

Errors 

Santa Fe Springs, CA –– Diamond Liners, Inc., a polyurea 

plural component application spray expert and a leading sales 

and service provider for OEMs and contractors, launched their 

503.7-07: Specification 

new website, www.diamondliners.com last year. The website’s 

primary function is e-commerce, for Crack offering Repair a full catalog by of parts 

and equipment. Diamond Liners offers the Ratio Check precision 

monitoring system as a Epoxy customer Injection insurance policy against 

application errors. 

This Specification gives requirements for 

repairing cracks in concrete by injection of 

two-component epoxy-resin adhesive. Available 

in hard copy or PDF format 

To learn more or to order this document, go 

to www.concrete.org. $29.50 (ACI members 

$18.00); Order Code 503707.EM. 

The Ratio Check is ideal for high volume, high risk jobs and 

production operations. The compact system attaches directly to 

Graco Reactors and other plural-component pumps. The monitor 

checks the ratio of the flow of material. The Ratio Check shuts 

off the machine before an error becomes large enough to incur 

substantial corrective costs. When an off-ratio scenario is detected, 

it sounds an audible alarm accompanied by a red flashing light 

and immediately shuts down the pumps. The alarm also has an 

easy reset feature. 

The Ratio Check is completely installed next to the pump 

controls for customer convenience and runs on a 110-volt circuit. 

Continuous monitoring with LED readouts of all components 

helps to ensure early and accurate warnings against errors. 

Diamond Liners co-owner John Bender provides further benefits 

that customers can expect from using the product. 

“There never seems to be enough time to do a spray job right 

the first time. But we all will take the time to correct a failed job. 

The Ratio Check can save you time by stopping you before the 

failure,” he says. 

The newly renovated Diamond Liners e-commerce site allows 

customers more flexibility and options when it comes to purchasing 

manufacturing and foam insulation spray equipment, parts, safety, 

testing equipment and more. Graco Reactor and other pluralcomponent 

system owners should visit www.diamondliners. 

com for more Ratio Check Monitor specifications and to order it 

directly online. 

CONTACT: Danette Bender, Diamond Liners, Inc., 

562-781-1045. 

ATTENDING AN 

INDUSTRY 

TRADESHOW 

 

 

 

 

BUSINESS BITS (Continued) 


PDA APRIL 

SPRAY COURSE 

By: Erin Nied, Associate Director 

PDA’s April Spray Course in Houston, Texas was a huge success! 

The course was taught by two of the most respected leaders in 

the polyurea industry, Dudley Primeaux II and Doug Commette. 

This course helps to identify the many elements involved in the 

successful operation and set-up of polyurea spray equipment. 

Although designed for the applicators, the course provides an indepth 

analysis of commercially available equipment designs and 

necessary hardware components to assure successful operation and 

spray application of polyureas. 

Applicator Spray Course Attendees learned the fundamentals of polyurea such 

as the polyurea properties and testing procedures, safety, jobsite planning and 

preparation, equipment start-up, surface preparation and much much more! 

A BIG Thank you to Polyvers! 

On behalf of the Polyurea Development Association and the Polyurea 

Training Group instructors, we would like to extend our gratitude 

for your assistance in making our January Applicator Spray Course 

in Houston, Texas a success. Your commitment and support for our 

Spray Course was above and beyond and we thank you! 

Applicator Spray Course Attendees got the chance to 

individually learn to spray polyurea 

Applicator Spray Course Attendees 


PDA INDUSTRY MILESTONE 

The Polyurea Development 

Association (PDA) has released the 

first comprehensive independent 

study of markets for pure polyurea 

and hybrid systems obtainable in the 

world. The Study of the Global Polyurea 

Industry is now available for purchase to 

the general public. The study was funded 

by the PDA as part of its ongoing effort to 

promote clarity and understanding of the 

rapidly expanding polyurea technology 

industry worldwide. 

By design, this inaugural industry study 

defines the size of the supply base for 

polyurea products on a global basis, and 

has individual data compiled for North 

America, Europe, Asia and the rest of the 

world. It establishes a baseline of data 

on polyurea technology in the industry 

that can be referenced and used to chart 

Thank you 

to the Sponsors 

of the Global 

Polyurea 

Industry Study: 

Study of the Global Polyurea 

Industry Available! 

By: Ken Bowman, Executive Director 

industry direction and trends in coming 

years. This furthers the position of 

PDA as the main industry resource for 

polyurea technology information. 

Compilations of the data and the 

projections contained in the report are the 

product of Ducker Worldwide (Ducker), 

an independent global market research 

firm based in Troy, Michigan that has 

provided strategic intelligence and 

consulting services to the chemicals and 

industrial marketplace since 1961. 

This study was sponsored by forwardthinking 

PDA members and important 

corrosion related industry associations 

including SSPC, NACE and CoatingsPro 

Magazine. This generous sponsorship 

allowed PDA to complete the important 

task of global data gathering. 

♣ PLATINUM SPONSORSHIP 


Bayer Corporation 

♣ GOLD SPONSORSHIP 

The Dow Chemical Company 

♣ SILVER SPONSORSHIP 

NACE/CoatingsPro Magazine 

SSPC 

Table of Contents 

& Introduction 

For more information about 

what is covered in the study, 

Please click here. 

PDA Exclusive! 

The PDA Member price for the study 

is $3,500.00 and non-Member 

price is $4,500.00, e-mail Erin at 

erin@robstan.com or contact PDA 

Headquarters at 816.221.0777 for 

more information or to place your 

order today! 


PDA EUROPE 2008 

ANNUAL CONFERENCE 

AND TABLE TOP EXHIBITION 

18 – 20 November 2008 

Austria Trend Parkhotel Schönbrunn, Vienna 

Companies wanting to find out about the very latest developments in the polyurea 

industry should register to attend the second Polyurea Development Association 

Europe (PDA Europe) annual conference. The event, named “Taking Polyurea 

to the Next Level”, will take place from 18 to 20 November at the Austria Trend 

Parkhotel Schönbrunn, Vienna. 

SUBMIT A PAPER! 

By presenting a paper at this 

conference, you provide your 

organisation with invaluable 

industry visibility; gain recognition 

amongst your peers; reinforce 

your expertise within the POLYUREA 

community; and create the opportunity of 

advising suppliers of your needs. 

Papers are invited from polyurea coating 

professionals - from raw material 

suppliers to applicators. 

Possible topics include: 

• case studies on the use of polyurea 

coatings 

• new technical developments or 

chemistry 

• environmental and stewardship issues 

(REACH, regulatory developments, 

approvals etc) 

• application technologies 

The short summary and presenter’s 

biography of the accepted papers will be 

included in the official event booklet. 

Submission conditions: 

• Presentations must not focus on 

promotion of a company or its 

products. 

• All abstracts must be in English and e- 

mailed using the Abstract Submission 

Form 

• Abstracts should be limited to 250 

words and accompanied by presenter's 

biography of 100 words and photo 

• Include the names of all authors of the 

presentation. 

• The invitation to submit an abstract 

does not constitute an offer to pay 

travel or accommodation 

• By submitting an abstract, you 

grant the organisers permission to 

include the electronic format of the 

presentation in the conference cd 

rom for the event - unless otherwise 

noted. 

• The PDA Europe Programme 

Committee will review all abstracts. 

The committee reserves the right 

to accept and reject abstracts for 

inclusion in the program. 

• Responsibility for the accuracy of 

abstracts rests with the author. 

• An abstract which does not adhere to 

these requirements is unlikely to be 

accepted. 

• Further instructions on presentation 

requirements will be provided in the 

notification letter and in additional 

correspondence. 

Deadlines: 

Abstract Submission Form : 

5th May 2008 

Powerpoint Presentations : 

15th October 2008 

PDA EUROPE BOARD 

OF DIRECTORS 

President 

Marc Broekaert 

Huntsman 

marc_broekaert@huntsman.com 

Treasurer 

Patrick Merlin 

ALBEMARLE Corporation 

patrick.merlin@albemarle.com 

President-elect 

Bernd Dietz 

Rema Tip Top 

Bernd.Dietz@tiptop.de 

MEMBERS 

Werner Bertleff 

BASF 

werner.bertleff@basf.com 

Karl H. Wührer 

Bayer MaterialScience AG 

karl-heinrich.wuehrer@bayermaterialscience.com 

Dominique Smits 

De Neef Conchem 

d.smits@deneef.eu 

Romuald Bartczak 

Flexguard 

romuald@flexguard.be 

Alain Descampe 

Imexfa sa 

a.descampe@imexfa.be 

Michael Byrne 

Liquid Plastics 

mnb@liquidplastics.co.uk 

Alain van Oorsouw 

Elastogran 

alain.vanoorsouw@elastogran.nl 

International Directors 

Murph Mahaffey 

GlasCraft 

mahaffeym@glascraft.com 

Alliance Director 

Lee Bower 

Polyvers 

lee@polyvers.com 

PDA EUROPE SECRETARIAT 

Rachel Barlow 

Dana Popp 

Françoise Maon 

Avenue Marcel Thiry 204, Brussels, Belgium 

Tel: +32 2 774 9611 

Fax: +32 2 774 9690 

E-mail: pda-europe@keleneurope.com 


SPONSORSHIP 

OPPORTUNITIES 

The PDA Europe Conference provides a great marketing 

opportunity to a targeted audience and is an excellent place 

to network. Don’t miss the opportunity to profile your 

company during the second industry event and sponsor a 

conference function. The sponsorship opportunities are now 

open on our website. 

TABLE TOPS 

The table top exhibition will be running along the annual 

conference, providing the opportunity to promote your 

company and products to a wide audience. The exhibition 

space will be located directly outside the conference room 

where lunches and breaks will be held. 

The exhibitors’ description and logo will be included in the 

official event booklet. In addition when booking your table 

top space, your company will get 1 delegate place for free. 

Exhibitors can either use the tables provided by the hotel 

or bring their own displays. 

Please note that table top places are limited and that we 

allocate spaces on a first come-first served basis. 

For further details and to download the Abstract Submission 

Form, Sponsorship and Exhibition Forms, please visit the PDA 

Europe website: www.pda-europe.org 

Details about registration, hotel reservation, conference 

programme, polyurea trainings and live demonstrations will 

follow soon! 

PDA EUROPE NEWS: 

April 2008 – PDA Europe new website 

was launched. 

Visit http://pda-europe.org for updated information on membership, 

events, industry resources and news! 

April 2008 – PDA Europe presence at Euromaintenance Fair in 

Brussels 

Dominique Smits (De Neef Conchem) and Tom Waisfisch 

(Megacoatings) represented PDA Europe at the 19th edition of the 

Euromaintenance Fair which took place in Brussels between 8 and 10 

April. 

March 2008 – PDA Europe Presence at 

UTECH Europe 2009 

Polyurea Development Association Europe will play a key role at 

the upcoming UTECH Europe 2009 Conference, by organising a 

full morning session devoted to the recent technical and commercial 

development of this exciting new technology. 

All aspects of the technology, including its position in the 

international marketplace, will be covered in a series of papers from 

the major partners in the PDA-Europe as well as other presentations 

from companies active in the sector. The UTECH Europe 2009 event, 

a major international conference and exhibition for the sector, will run 

31 st March – 2 nd April 2009 in the Maastricht Exhibition and Congress 

Centre (MECC) in Maastricht, the Netherlands. 

The Polyurea session will complement the full afternoon of 

presentations being coordinated by ISOPA (the European Diisocyanate 

and Polyols Producers Association) on the second day of the conference, 

1 April. This is planned to involve a variety of specialists addressing 

key issues including an overview of polyurethane sustainability; users’ 

experiences of ISOPA’s safe-working programme — Walk the Talk; 

and the latest status of the European Union’s REACH legislation 

(Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals), which is 

now well into implementation. 

PDA EUROPE MEMBER COMPANIES 

Aceto Europe 

Adcos NV 

Advanced Plastics Benelux BV 

Albemarle Europe SPRL 

Alpina Sicherheitssysteme GmbH 

Aplicamus-Sinalizacao E revestimentos 

LDA 

Azelis Benelux NV 

BASF Aktiegesellschaft 

BASF Construction Chemicals Europe AG 

Baule UK limited 

Bayer Materialscience AG 

BCA NV 

Brayan International FZE 

Carboline Norge 

Chemique Adhesives & Sealants Ltd. 

CMCI 

Collano Ltd. 

Collinda 

De Neef Conchem 

Dominator Aps 

Dow Hyperlast 

ECC NV 

Elastogran 

Elastomonotoki LTD 

Elmico 

Erik Kalland 

ESP Benelux 

Flexcoat Industries BV 

Flexguard BVBA 

FluidSystems GmbH&Co. KG 

Foam Spray LTD 

Fosroc International 

Garraf Maquinaria 

GlasCraft 

Graco NV 

Harzlack Ltd 

Hercules GMBH 

Huntsman Europe 

Imexfa SA 

Improrep Canarisas S.L. 

Investigation y desarrollo de polyurea 

(IDP) 

Isothane 

JB-Services BVBA 

Julio Crespo SA 

Kobato BV 

Leighs Paints 

Lindberg & Lund AS 

Liquid Plastics Limited 

Lonza LTD 

Pearl Insulation Materials Industries LLC 

Polinvent LTD 

Polycraft GmbH 

Polymer Institut 

Polyvers International LLC 

Prokol Polymers & Compunds BV 

Pultex Kunststofftechnikhandel GMBH 

Puran 

Rema Tip Top GMBH 

Seal Systems Ireland Limited 

Sigor Hesselberg 

Sinitalia SRL 

Tambour Polyurea 

Too Kazkor 

Uniplastic-Pu AG 

United Foam ApS 


ADVERTISE IN THE PODIUM!! 

In past issues of the Podium many companies 

have taken advantage of advertising. 

Our Podium new design is attracting 

more and more people to read our 

publication daily! Here are our new 

ad rates: 

1 page, 4 color ad = $600 

½ page, 4 color ad = $350 

¼ page, 4 color ad = $250 

If you would like to advertise in the 

1st Quarter issue of 2008 please 

contact us ASAP! If you have any 

questions, please contact Erin Nied at 

PDA headquarters: 816.221.0777 or erin@robstan.com. 

HELP US HELP YOU! 

Take advantage of your PDA membership and send us your case studies! This is free 

PR and advertising for your company and your products. We would love to publish your 

case study in the next and future issues of the Podium. If you would like to submit a 

case study (or press release or anything pertaining to our industry) for our 1st quarter 

issue of 2008, please send it to Erin Nied at erin@robstan.com. 

SPORT PDA 

APPAREL 

PDA APPAREL 

ON SALE NOW! 

Show your support for PDA by 

wearing PDA apparel! Show Enjoy your the support for PDA 

holidays and take advantage 

by wearing 

of 

PDA apparel! 

these low prices for a 

Enjoy 

limited 

the 

time. 

holidays and take 

Please contact PDA Headquarters at 

advantage of these low prices 

816.221.0777 to order. 

for a limited time. Please 

contact PDA Headquarters 

at 816.221.0777 to order. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Was $39.99 

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Now $16.99! 

 

PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT 

Podium is published by the 

Polyurea Development Association (PDA), 

14 W. Third St., Suite 200 

Kansas City, Missouri 64105 

816.221.0777 

Editor, Erin Nied 

Executive Director, Ken Bowman 

E-mail: kenb@robstan.com 

Copyright © 2008 

Polyurea Development Association 

All Rights Reserved 

EDITORIAL POLICY 

Podium is the official publication of 

the Polyurea Development Association. 

The magazine provides a medium for 

expressing views and opinions without 

approving, disapproving or guaranteeing 

the validity or accuracy of any data, claim 

or opinion appearing under a byline, or 

obtained or quoted from an acknowledged 

source. The opinions expressed by 

authors do not necessarily reflect the 

official views of PDA. 

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2008 

MAY 

15-17 

AIA 2008 National Convention 

and Design Exposition 

Boston Convention and 

Exhibition Center 

Boston, MA 

www.aia.org 

JUNE 

2-5 

American Coatings Show 

Charlotte Convention Center 

Charlotte, NC 

www.american-coatings-show. 

com 

3-6 

CONSTRUCT2008 

Las Vegas Convention Center 

Las Vegas, NV 

www.csinet.org 

JULY 

8-11 

PDA Applicator Spray Course 

Polyvers Facility 

Houston, TX 

www.pda-online.org 

AUGUST 

18-21 

MegaRust 

Galt House Hotel & Suites 

Louisville, KY 

www.nstcenter.com 

26-28 

PDA’s Mid-Year Meeting 

Embassy Suites - Plaza 

Kansas City, MO 


OCTOBER 

7-11 

PDA Applicator Spray Course 

Polyvers Facility 

Houston, TX 


NOVEMBER 

18-21 

PDA Europe’s 2 nd Annual 

Conference 

Austria Trend Parkhotel 

Schönbrunn, Vienna 

www.pda-europe.org 

DECEMBER 

8-11 

Ecobuild 

Washington Convention Center 

Washington D.C. 

www.ecobuildfall.com 

8 | FOURTH QUARTER 2007 | PODIUM

PDA's 9th Annual Conference a Huge SUCCESS! - Polyurea ...

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